Team

Prof J Bernard Walsh

Consultant Physician and Clinical Professor

The Mercer’s Institute’s Bone Health and Osteoporosis Unit in St James’s Hospital was founded by Prof J Bernard Walsh who is Consultant Physician in the MedEL Directorate and Clinical Professor in Trinity College Dublin. He was a Previous Visiting Professor to the University of California in San Francisco and Consultant Physician in Durham, England. Graduated from University College Cork, he trained in Cork, Mater Hospital Dublin, King’s College Hospital London and the Royal Liverpool Hospital.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Edinburgh, Member of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, and is the author of over a hundred peer reviewed papers. He has extensive experience on the use of PTH as an anabolic treatment in patients with severe osteoporosis and has also taken a National and European lead in Vitamin D milk supplementation.

Dr Miriam Casey

Consultant Physician

Dr Miriam Casey is a consultant physician in the MedEL directorate and a lecturer in Trinity College Dublin with has a special interest in Bone Health and Osteoporosis. She is a graduate of RCSI and a previous consultant in the UK and a senior lecturer in Keel University school of medicine. Her doctorate was in bone turnover markers in renal disease patients. She has been a lead investigator in the North South collaborative Trinity, Ulster and Department of Agriculture Cohort Study (TUDA) looking at nutrients and bone health.

Dr Kevin McCarroll

Consultant Physician

Kevin McCarroll is a consultant physician and geriatrician specialising in bone health and osteoporosis at St James’s Hospital, Dublin. He graduated in medicine from Trinity College, Dublin and did his postgraduate training in Dublin University hospitals. He completed a clinical fellowship at the Mercer’s Institute for Research on Ageing and was awarded a doctorate in Medicine for his thesis on vitamin D and it’s relationship to cognition, blood pressure, falls and mood.

His research interests include vitamin D, bone health and cognitive impairment. He is a co-investigator in the TUDA (Trinity, Ulster, Dept. of Agriculture) study which comprises 5200 Irish adults aged over 60 and from which peer reviewed research on vitamin D, dairy intakes and bone health has been published.

He co-runs the bone health unit and orthogeriatric liaison service at St James’s Hospital and is also a clinical senior lecturer in medical gerontology at Trinity College, Dublin.

Dr. Rosaleen Lannon

Consultant Physician

Rosaleen Lannon is a consultant physician in geriatric medicine in St James’s Hospital. She is a graduate of University College Dublin and completed higher specialist training in geriatric medicine and general internal medicine between Dublin and Galway. She spent 3 years as clinical fellow in Bone Health at the Mercer’s Institute for Research on Ageing. Her special interests are bone health and osteoporosis, stroke and residential care.

Currently she is visiting geriatrician for Hollybrook Lodge Residential Unit in Inchicore as well as providing inpatient clinical care and rehabilitation services and working in the bone health unit at St James’s Hospital. She is also a clinical senior lecturer in medical gerontology at Trinity College, Dublin.

Georgina Steen

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Georgina has over 20 years hospital experience in acute and rehabilitation care of the older person. She started work as a clinical nurse specialist in falls prevention and bone health in 2005 and has completed her MSc in Gerontological nursing in Trinity College Dublin.

Nessa Fallon

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Nessa has over 20 years’ experience in acute, rehabilitation and extended care of the older person. As a Clinical Nurse Specialist in falls prevention and bone health since 2004, she completed an MSc in Gerontological Nursing in TCD in 2008.

Dr. Niamh Maher PhD

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Niamh Maher has 30 years experience in hospital based nursing including Medical, Midwifery and Gerontological nursing. She completed her MSc in Gerontological Nursing in 2000 and a PhD in 2014. . She commenced working in falls prevention and bone health in 2003. Her PhD, undertaken with the School of Nursing and Midwifery, in TCD, focused on improving outcomes for elderly hip fracture patients throught early access to a bone health clinic.